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the charming baroque town of the baltic, vilnius is a unesco world heritage site with hilltop views, fairy tale castles, and whimsical art centresVilnius University courtyard.

below: Bird's-eye view of Vilnius old town from Gediminas tower. opposite: St Anne's Church. by Kalpana sunder

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strongly believe in miracles. Ignoring the mist-like rain and dark skies, I twirl round the Stebulas or Miracle tile located in the Cathedral Square. This is where the famous two million strong human chain extended all the way to Riga and Tallinn in 1989, in the dying days of the USSR. If you twirl three times, with your eyes closed, your wish is

supposed to come true.An hour later, the sun shines, dispelling the gloom of the past few days. This is the actual point where this city begins. Long ago it was a place of worship of the Lithuanian thunder god. The equestrian statue of Grand Duke Gediminas who invited merchants and artisans to come and live here in the year 1323, leading to the founding of the city, looms large over the square. Legend has it that the gods told Gediminas in a dream ‘to create a city as mighty as the howls of one thousand iron wolves.’ A massive white cathedral, resembling a Greek temple, dominates the skyline. I am in Vilnius the pocket-sized capital of Lithuania, which has been on the crossroads of East and West, dominated by Russia, Poland and Germany in the course of its tumultuous history.

Despite being the last pagan country in Europe to accept Christianity, Vilnius is today a riot of churches and the omnipresent symbol of the cross can be seen on souvenirs and around the necks of locals—the skyline of the city is packed with gleaming crosses, spires and domes. Many churches were used as granaries, museums and galleries in communist times and have now been lovingly restored. I love the architectural symmetry of the red-bricked St Anne’s Church in which Napoleon’s cavalry took shelter during the march to Russia as well as the 2000 intricate stucco statues, built by Italian workers depicting Biblical as well as mythical scenes, in the Church of St Peter and Paul. St Casmir’s Church named after Lithuania’s patron saint, is the oldest Baroque church in the city and has been used as a a Lutheran church by the Germans and as a Museum of Atheism by the Soviets! I walk below the stunning Gates of Dawn, part of the defensive city wall for nearly 400 years, which has a gilded icon of the Virgin Mary attributed with healing powers, which makes it a popular place of pilgrimage for the Catholics.

For an eagle’s eye view, I take the funicular from the courtyard of the Old Arsenal to the top of the Gediminas Hill for a panoramic sweep of the city: both modern Vilnius with its high rise glass and steel buildings across the river and the Baroque Old town with its buildings in a pleasing palette of teal, mauve and coffee, jumble of red roofs and slender steeples and spires shimmering in the sun’s haze. We walk on Pilies Street, with its Narnia—like street lamps, where noblemen and rich citizens

iclockwise from top: Trakai castle; Basilica of Madonna Ostrobramska; Vilnius city ship restaurant in the Neris river; a kitchen and dining store. opposite, from top: Eating out at a Vilnius cafe is excellent and affordable; Cepelinai or Didžkukuliai are one of the national dishes of Lithuania; a souvenir shop in the town.

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resided in days of yore—today it’s a sprawl of cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops as well as grand churches.

I take a tour of Vilnius University, established by Jesuit monks in 1579 making it one of Europe’s oldest. The buildings built in Baroque and Gothic styles with ornate arcades, 12 graceful courtyards and halls with Greek Muses on walls are all an architectural feast. Our tour takes us through the spectacular Professor’s Reading room with priceless manuscripts and frescoes on walls and the Baranauskas Hall with paintings of famous Lithuanians on the walls. The Literra Bookshop on the grounds of the university is a work of art by itself- its low vaulted ceilings are covered with frescoes of caricatures of professors and students. Surrounded by the youthful energy of students, this is a tour that makes you envy those who study inside these hallowed portals!

Turns out that in this world of mass merchandising, locals still love their artisanal crafts and art. You can find here flowing reams of fine linen, hand knitted sweaters, hand-painted pottery as well as independent fashion boutiques. The echoes of the past, though, are never far away. We walk down Stilkliu Street, the ‘glass blowers street’ in the heart of the old Jewish Ghetto, which has ateliers and workshops displaying their glass creations alongside small bakeries selling dainty French pastries. The winding streets however hide a painful past. More than 90 per cent of the Jewish community was obliterated under the Nazis, and today only one of the 105 synagogues survives. For a glimpse into the somber history of Vilnius, I visit the Genocide Victims Museum, which was the KGB prison from where deportations happened. In the Soviet era between 1958 and 1987 many people were detained, interrogated and tortured here. The visit to the museum with its stark cells, solitary confinement chambers, torture rooms and even eavesdropping devices that were used, is a sobering experience. The city skyline is dominated by the iconic Hill of Three Crosses. Legend has it that long ago seven Franciscan monks were crucified here. Stalin had these crosses removed and buried, and they were re-built as an expression of people’s faith.

We take a day trip to Trakai, a medieval capital of Lithuania just 28 kilometres from Vilnius, built to ward off German knights. The red bricked castle of Trakai looks straight out of the pages of a fairy tale, bristling with turrets and towers, five sprawling interconnected lakes surrounded by pristine greenery and rolling hills. Trakai used to be the capital city of Vytautas the Great who brought an ethnic group called Karaite from Crimea to serve as his bodyguards in the 14th Century. These people brought their local food, clothing and customs and even today a small community lives in Trakai. The fortress was badly damaged by the Cossack invaders and rebuilt by the Soviets. The castle re-creates the past for tourists like me—crossbows that you can shoot and indulge in target practice. There are displays of archaeological finds like axes, wine jars and grinding stones, and hoards of coins from the medieval ages.

Despite its history of oppression, what captures my heart is the city’s audacious sense of play and its joie de vivre. The locals are basketball fanatics and everywhere I see a basket ball hoop! Come evening, the pedestrian areas of the old town leading away from Cathedral Square come alive with buskers playing accordions and cafes spilling out onto the streets with

the sound of laughter and tinkling of glasses. For a unique flavour, we walk across a bridge adorned with thousands of padlocks, over the Vilnia River in Old Town to arty, laid back Uzupis, a bohemian self- declared independent republic. This eccentric creation of artists has its own passport, constitution of bizarre rules, even its special holidays and festivals. Uzupis was formed by some dreamers, free spirits and philosophers on April Fool’s Day in 1997. I find its rebellious charm infectious.

The streets of Uzupis are lined with small boutiques selling vintage clothing, art deco stores and photographic art galleries, I see bright graffiti stenciled, hand sprayed or simply drawn, livening up the grey, drab walls. On a crumbling wall in Paupio Street, I read the whimsical Constitution that includes quirky lines like “Everyone has the right to be idle” and is written in nine languages. I am pleasantly surprised by Literatu Street in Old Town carpeted with fallen leaves, which is like an open-air art gallery with a ‘Wall of fame’ that pays tribute to the poets and writers, who liberated their country, featuring their different works of art in wood, ceramic, and glass.+

How to get thereFly Finnair from Delhi to Helsinki and connect to Vilnius. ( Economy return fares are around Rs 56,000)

stayIf you are on a budget stay, at Hotel Tiltot near the Cathedral. Worth a splurge is the tasteful boutique Hotel Shakespeare tucked into a quiet lane in Old Town with each room decorated on the theme of a particular writer. (www.shakespeare.lt). The most luxurious option is the new Hotel Kempinski in Cathedral Square. www.kempinski.com

eatKugelis which are dumplings with grated potatoes, cold beet soup served with herbs. Have a meal at Forto Dvaras a popular folksy Lithuanian restaurant with rustic ambience, and waitresses in national costumes

serving cepelinai- dumplings made from grated potatoes. Visit a brewery to taste local beer. If a taste of Indian is what your heart desires, head to Sue’s Indian Raja, an Indian restauratnt just opposite the Cathedral Square!

shOpPick up Amber jewellery, fine linen, pottery, glass, birch wood souvenirs, and rough hewn angels in wood.

dO Vilnius is one of the few cities in the world where you can take a hot air balloon ride. vilnius-tourism.lt/en/tourismTake a Walking tour of Old Town, see some of the 40 churches, and take a funicular ride to the castle for a bird’s eye view. Visit one of the micro breweries and have a meal. Spend a day at Uzupis and take a day trip to the medieval town of Trakai.

t+l Guide

Interior of St Peter's and

St Paul's church in Vilnius, Lithuania. o

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